Passaggi a livello - Railroad Crossings

Correvano veloci lungo le gallerie I treni di una volta trasportavano le spie Nelle carrozze letto sposi in luna di miele Facevano l'amore con l'ausilio del motore Mio nonno preferiva per la villeggiatura Portare i suoi parenti coi bagagli in carrozzella L'aria della campagna carica di letame Spostava vibrazioni di una vita troppo bella Correvano veloci su quelle giardiniere La gente si sbracciava salutando alle frontiere La vita, ci prendeva con strana frenesia Guardare il fumo uscire dalle macchine a vapore Giocavano sull'aia bambini e genitori Calasso li avvertiva dal Corriere della Sera: "Copritevi che fa freddo, mettetevi le galosce"... Good vibrations, Satisfaction, sole mio Cinderella mit violino, Lux aeterna Galileo, douce France, Nietzsche-Lieder Kurosawa, meine Liebe Mister Einstein on the beach Mister Einstein on the beach Passaggi a livello © 1980 Franco Battiato "Passaggi a livello" is like an elegy for times past, capped off with a sequence of song titles and names.

They ran fast through the tunnels – the trains of another time transported spies. In the sleeping cars, spouses on honeymoon made love with the help of the engine. My grandpa preferred, for the holiday, to bring his relatives, their bags in a wheelchair. The country air suffused with manure displaced the vibe of a life too fine. They ran fast on those Giardinieras (Fiat). People waved their arms, waving at the borders. Life, it grabbed us with strange frenzy, watching the smoke emit from the steam engines. They played in the farmyard, kids and parents. Calasso warned them from the Corriere della Sera: “Cover yourselves in the cold, put on your galoshes” . . . Good vibrations, Satisfaction, sole mio Cinderella with violin, Eternal Light Galileo, Sweet France, Nietzsche-Lieder Kurosawa, Meine Liebe Mister Einstein on the beach Mister Einstein on the beach English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Patriots was released in 1980. In the lyrics of this album, there emerge a greater emphasis on irony, the use of foreign languages, and the stringing together of disconnected phrases into montages that may or may not yield meaning upon further analysis, and whose purpose may at times be as much musical as semantic. As is typical with Battiato, there are references to literature, art, philosophy, religion, and music, along with snapshots of personal memories, that form a mix of both high and everyday culture.

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